10 Random Facts - December 2020 Edition

1. Candy canes date way back and have an interesting timeline.

In fact the first candy cane was made around 350 years ago although you probably wouldn't recognize it. The first candy canes looked very different from modern day ones. Originally they were straight and missing those classic stripes, the first ones were all white. It wasn't until 1874 however that candy canes were first mentioned in relation to Christmas in a magazine called the Nursery Monthly. Further down the timeline in 1882 a magazine called Babyland was the first one to mention them being hung on Christmas  trees. It took even longer for the candy canes to get their stripes, that didn't happen until around 1900. In 1921 the process of making candy cane was finally automated when Brasher O. Westerfield invented a machine to make them. Before that people had to make the classic treats by hand.

2. Upside down Christmas trees are in style.

In recent years Christmas trees hanging upside down from the ceiling has become more and more popular. The custom is especially common in malls and department stores since it leaves more floor space and as a plus displays the ornaments at eye level which is pretty good marketing. By no means is this a new trend however, some people actually speculate it could've started back in the 7th century. Supposedly a Benedictine monk, Boniface, came up with the idea after witnessing a group of pagans worshipping an oak tree.. The story states that he cut down the oak and planted a fir tree, later he cut it down, hung it upside down, and used it to explain the Holy Trinity to them due to its triangular shape. We do know for sure that the inverted tree gained popularity in southern Poland centuries later, especially among poor families. The reason for this being that they simply didn't have the floor space for a tree otherwise. We can blame our plastered ceilings for the temporary loss of the tradition since it was considerably easier to hang a tree from rafters.

3. Snowy owls have some very interesting special features.

For one thing, they aren't really nocturnal like other owls. They can hunt during the day or the night, it really just depends on their location and therefore the amount off sunlight they have as well as the prey that is available at the current location. This special feature is helpful due to the fact that snowy owls breed in a place where the sun never sets. These adorable owls also start out life with their very own pair of snowshoes. Not only do they have thick pads on the bottom of their feet, but they also have thick feathers covering both their legs and their feet. Because of the excess of feathers on the snowy owls to keep them warm they're actually one of the heaviest owl species in North America.

4. There are things about mistletoe you might not be aware of.

For instance, back in the old days one tradition was for people to pluck a berry of off the mistletoe bough every time someone kissed underneath it. When all the berries were gone, the bough no longer required kissing. And now for some gross facts! The meaning of the name mistletoe boils down to "dung on a twig". If you think that sounds unappealing then just wait for it. Mistletoe is actually poisonous, and although it can't kill you it can cause some pretty nasty side effects like blurred vision, drowsiness, vomiting, and sometimes seizures. It is worth keeping in mind that mistletoe can kill animals, so keep it well away from your pets. If you're about to reconsider ever putting mistletoe in your house again then I have one last fact that might make you reconsider. Mistletoe is sometimes used as an alternative cancer therapy, but since it isn't approved by the FDA in the United States it is most commonly used in Europe.

5. Sugar gliders aren't always cute.

When they feel threatened not only will they secrete a white, oily substance from their paracloacal glands, which smells like soured fruit, but they will also assume a defensive posture. They'll stand on their hind legs, head extended, and most of the time with their mouth open to scare off predators. If they are especially scared they might even lay down on their backs, feet up in the air, and vocalize. And you shouldn't underestimate these little animals vocalizations either. They have been known to bark, yap, buzz, drone, hiss, scream, and when content they may even purr although the sound they make when they're scared is known as "crabbing". "Crabbing" can also occur when they've woken from a nap. You know what... never mind they are always cute.

6. Tim Allen shouldn't have played in The Santa Clause for several reasons.

The first reason is simply that the part wasn't written for him. Originally Bill Murray was meant for the role, and even went so far as to read for the part but Murray himself eventually turned the offer down stating that the movie didn't quite fit his sense of humor. The second reason that Tim Allen should've been a no go is because Disney has a strict rule about hiring ex cons. Allen does have a criminal record since he was arrested in 1978 for possession of cocaine. He was sentenced to three to seven years due to the fact the he gave a list of other dealers to the authorities, he served two years before he was released on parole. Thankfully for all The Santa Clause fans (including me, my family tries to watch it every year) Disney made an exception for Allen.

Bonus Fact: Peter Boyle, who played Scott's boss in the first movie, was recast as Father Time in the final two movies.

7. Hanukkah foods mainly revolve around oil.

The reason for this is the fact that the holiday is meant to celebrate the miracle oil that burned for eight nights straight. So most of the food eaten during Hanukkah are fried in oil. Some of the more popular foods are latkes (fried potato pancakes), apple fritters, kugel, and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts). Latkes are generally served with either sour cream or applesauce. And it is worth noting that although sufganiyot are traditionally filled with jelly, some people fill them chocolate or caramel. One other classic snack revolving around Hanukkah is gelt which is actually doubly useful since it is used in the game of dreidel. Gelt are wrapped chocolate coins that are used as the currency, if you will, of the game. Players spin the dreidel and depending on which side it lands on you lose or win some gelt, and the game ends when one player has all of the gelt.

8. The construction of violins used to be pretty gross.

More specifically the strings were gross. Today the strings of violins are either made from steel or plated with it, but back in the day they made the strings out of catgut (which was actually another name for sheep guts). The catgut would be dried, stretched, and twisted into the shape of a string to then be put onto the violin. Building a violin is already complicated even aside from that however. It takes over seventy individual pieces of wood to make just one violin. Another odd, and sort of gross, thing previously used in the making of these instruments was dogfish skin (a dogfish is a type of small shark). The dogfish skin was commonly used to sand violins in the 18th century.

9. Santa Claus had a makeover in 1931.

Good old Santa has been around for a while so it's only natural his look has changed a little bit over the years. In the past he'd been depicted in many different ways. In historical Dutch drawings he was a man in a bishop's hat riding on a donkey. During the mid 1800s if he wasn't in a bishop's clothing he was drawn with a long coat, pointy hat, and a straight beard. At this point in time he was almost always a tall gaunt man. Basically the first notable time that he was visualized as a fat old man was when Thomas Nast drew him for Harpers Weekly during the American Civil War. He combined Uncle Sam and the description of Santa given in The Night Before Christmas. The Santa that we all picture when we hear the name didn't come to be until a 1931 Coca-Cola campaign. The artist that created the modern Santa look was a man named Haddon Sundblom. He continued to illustrate the jolly old elf until 1964 when he created his final version. Aside from Santa, Sundblom also drew two other iconic characters, Aunt Jemima, and the Quaker Oaks Quaker.

10. Dick Clark wasn't just responsible for Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve.

Aside from the classic New Years Eve celebration, which has been airing yearly since 1972, his career was legendary and he was behind a lot in the music industry. In 1973 Clark created the American Music Awards (AMA). He also hosted American Bandstand for over thirty years, and through it changed people's perception of rock n' roll. His clean cut look as well as his dress code for the show, skirts or dresses for girls and coats and ties for boys among other things helped parents to accept the musical genre. In addition to these things he helped numerous now famous artists get ahead in their careers including, Paul Anka, Barry Manilow, and Madonna. He wasn't just interested in music though, he hosted several game shows. One of the most popular being The $25,000 Pyramid.